comment #1

p.Vice says ...

I'm having a hard time deciding if I read less and less reviews on a yearly basis because of the lack of interesting ideas from the critics, or because what they're writing about simply doesn't lend itself to such.

comment #2

Gordie Lachance says ...

I agree with Anderson 100%.

Andrew Tracy over at Reverse Shot is a wanker. Every review he writes seems to be an exercise in coming up with new ways to say "Worst Movie Ever", and, something I find even more disturbing, whenever he dismisses a film derived from a literary work, (such as No Country For Old Men or Revolutionary Road) he likes to brag that he doesn't know whether to blame the screenwriter or the novelist, because he "doesn't read".

comment #3

JosephB says ...

I'll have to pick this one up. I love the books put out by the NSoFC. I've got several of their earlier releases, favs being "Produced and Abandoned" (which features some great pieces on obscure films like "Cutter's Way", "Mike's Murder" and "The Offence") and "They Went That Away" which includes pieces on genre films. Bottom line, it's always great to see writings by Michael Sragow, Richard T. Jameson (best editor ever at Film Comment) and Michael Wilmington compiled in one cool reader.

comment #4

lawnorder says ...

Anyone who writes for slantmagazine.com is a wanker! They should just change theiir name to hatemovies.com.

comment #5

TVMCCA says ...

And then there's Walter Chaw of filmfreakcentral.net--someone who lawnorder will like even less than the slantmagazine website critics.

comment #6

great scott says ...

It's official. Roger Ebert has totally lost it. 3 stars for Marley and Me, while Benjamin Button gets 2.5 stars. Nuff said.

comment #7

Devin Faraci says ...

MARLEY & ME is a much better movie than BENJAMIN BUTTON. It just isn't as 'prestigious.'

comment #8

great scott says ...

That explains why Marley & Me is on so many Ten Best lists.

comment #9

Devin Faraci says ...

I've seen 50 films better than BENJAMIN BUTTON this year. Most of them don't belong on a 10 best list. And the inclusion of a movie on a zillion mainstream 10 best lists doesn't mean it's all that great. How many 10 best lists did CRASH make?

comment #10

Devin Faraci says ...

BTW, you've seen both films, right? You're not just another annoying internet ding dong who treats films like sports teams, where you support and champion a movie despite not having seen it?

comment #11

great scott says ...

I've seen Benjamin Button and it's one of the best films I've ever seen. The odds of Marley and Me being a better movie are pretty slim. Do I need to see Bedtime Stories to know it's more Adam Sandler garbage?

BTW, Ebert has panned some of my favorite films of all time: Die Hard, Raising Arizona, The Elephant Man, A Few Good Men, Splash. Maybe I should not have said he's lost it, because that implies he ever had it.

comment #12

Devin Faraci says ...

BENJAMIN BUTTON is one of the best films you've ever seen?

Yikes.

comment #13

BurmaShave says ...

Faraci, most people really like BENJAMIN BUTTON. Which doesn't make you an iconoclast for being wrong about it. But certainly don't act like people are misguided to be over the moon about it. Plus I think most would agree your taste is pretty suspect.

comment #14

BurmaShave says ...

Though I will say PUNISHER: WAR ZONE was kind of fun. Certainly not the trashy masterpiece you made it out to be though.

comment #15

T. Holly says ...

Jeff, you twist everything up -- and that is the most annoying thing about the web. Furthermore, what does working hard have to do with anything? And your line about giving things a pass is creme de la bunk. Plus you know you saw this on MCN's home page first -- they don't own it, but damn, they're a good resource -- one of the hardest working people in Hollywood is Ray Pride, in Chicago; so nice to see the surprise find he made on Christmas eve at MCIndie.

The question the interviewer asked of the co-EDITOR of the "B List Movies" book is, "The reviewers who contributed to the book represent many prominent film critics. What is your opinion of the state of contemporary film criticism?" And the answer, after pros vs wankers, is on the nature of the reviews in the book, to wit: "The most marked difference, I have learned, between what's in 'the B List' and what's generally available on blogs is the quality of the writing. there's no comparison. Some of these NSFC people are scarily good at what they do."

I've read reviews that say there are superb intros written by the editors as well. All of us, for a long time, know that excellence is endangered and not a birthright. Not too surprisingly, this book was sold out when I tried buying it last week at Borders in Hollywood.

The most hilarious (as in stupid) review was in CHUD, where Tom Fuchs, totally confused in every possible way, tells the reader "...a majority of these pieces could probably be scrounged up online with only a little effort..." Right, sure Tom... later.

comment #16

arturobandini2 says ...

One movie critic who deserves a blog (and long overdue recognition) is Danny Peary, author of the now-out-of-print Cult Movies series from the '80s. No other film essayist since, certainly not the AICN crowd, has written with as much passion about buried treasures, or was better at convincing me to watch movies I didn't want to see based solely on his reaction. He also wrote another great collection, Alternate Oscars, pointing out how bogus the Academy's choices were for every single year. Don't know where Peary is today, but I miss his writing. He's the missing link between the Paulettes and the bloggers.

comment #17

T. Holly says ...

Not so terrible. Pretty fucking great actually. Schickel fashions a minor whirlwind here that those so call B listers you give passes to couldn't dream of:

http://www.mcnblogs.com/filmessent/2008/12/sex_with_teens_gender_stereoty.html

comment #18

shawn says ...

Jeff, I hold no brief in favor of Dick Shickel, but I think you're misreading Anderson. When he says ""There are a lot of alleged critics out there trying to prove that the internet was created to unleash the untalented, untaught and probably unwashed," I'm pretty sure he means that there are talentless internet critics whose work amounts to a proof that the internet is full of hacks. (Hence, "those people exist in print too" -- meaning that there are crap critics with jobs in traditional media.) Anyhow.

comment #19

Uncle Larry says ...

If you're looking for someone who approaches this seriously, try Marshall Fine at Hollywood & Fine (hollywoodandfine.com). I used to read him in Gannett. Maybe not always on the money taste-wise, but consistently intelligent and entertaining.

comment #20

Uncle Larry says ...

Plus I'd add that most of those NSFC dweebs are too in love with the smell of their own fumes, too caught up in being contrarian (i.e., "hip") to be taken all that seriously. Also: Can someone please tell A.O. Scott to shut the f--- up?

comment #21

T. Holly says ...

Did Marshall Fine review The Reader? Does he know the cost to Hanna; how she bolted, and wound up a Siemens factory worker and a Nazi guard? If so, I'll read it.

comment #22

T. Holly says ...

Yes, he reviewed it. No, he doesn't write about it, but I don't like The Kid any better knowing she was a Nazi first (see #17's link). I wonder, did Shawn Levy reviewed it?

comment #23

shawn says ...

T. Holly: I didn't review "The Reader" (my colleague Marc Mohan did), but I saw it and didn't really engage with it sufficiently to ponder Hannah's past and/or guilt excessively -- and not enough to read the novel for deeper understanding.

comment #24

T. Holly says ...

That's ok, it's a girl thing. The movie was moderately crappy. It should have been based on or inspired by the novel and not an adaptation. If Marc did something out of the ordinary, I'll get back to you.

comment #25

T. Holly says ...

Marc Mohan only says Hanna mysteriously leaves. Did you see how fast she cleared that place out? Washes a milk bottle and off she goes with carry on luggage.

The newest development, and funniest, is that A.J. Schnack thinks this post is a non-fiction headline.

comment #26

free games says ...

That explains why Marley & Me is on so many Ten Best lists.